Friday, November 7, 2008

Joel Hanrahan Topps Heritage card TTM.

Who is this? Joel Hanrahan, right-handed pitcher for the Washington Nationals. He ended the 2008 season promoted to the position of closer; he had 93 strikeouts in 84.1 innings pitched.

What is this? A Topps Heritage (based on the 1952 design) rookie card.

Where'd I get it? First in a pack, then returned from Hanrahan through the mail.

How much did it cost? Fraction of pack cost plus two first-class stamps for TTM.

Why is this so special? Because our daughter Lucy's second favorite team after the Mets is the Washington Nationals. She just likes them. And the only baseball card collecting experience more enjoyable for us than finding a fun card in a pack--GU, auto, or whatever--is receiving an autograph through the mail. It lends at least the illusion of a personal connection to the player, especially when they add a note or personalize the signature. You can't imagine how much fun this is for a kid learning about baseball. As for Topps Heritage: they are built like cards of yore. Cardboard, no gloss, no refractometry. Just player picture and card design. And...they have never met a Sharpie they didn't like.

Hey Mr. Matic! First time reader just thought your work was really great. You have amazing work. What I mean by that is you're very detail oriented and its very good! Looking forward to read some more!Thanks

A quick note on links

I'm only putting autograph-related links in this blogroll. However, if you have a blog or a collector site not specifically about autographs, but with an autograph page or an "autograph" label on your blog posts, I'll put that link here.